Outdoors with Don Q: Fishing the lakes and streams of the Yukon

This is the last of a four part series on our 2012 adventure in the Yukon, and this article is about our fishing experiences in that part of Canada.
One of the few remaining items on my personal “Bucket List” had been to catch an Arctic Grayling in the Far North, and that goal was finally attained, while traveling for six days in the Yukon back country with our longtime and good friends, Barry and Susan Drury of Watson Lake, Yukon.

Fishing in the Yukon:
On our six day trip in “The Bush,” we had the opportunity to catch and release many Mackinaw (Lake) Trout, Rainbow Trout and Arctic Grayling.
Together with the Drurys, we trolled at a number of giant sized lakes, hoping to catch a monster Northern Pike or huge Mackinaw (Lake) Trout.

Lake fishing:
Trolling success from their boat was slow in all of the lakes we fished, due to high, muddy water caused by torrential rains the week before we arrived.
At one of those lakes (Frances Lake, which is huge), the campground was still partially flooded by the water that was just beginning to recede.
We caught many Lake Trout and Rainbow Trout at a number of different lakes; they were respectable in size, but nothing to brag about.
They were miniscule compared to the 25-plus pound Pike and 40-plus pound Lake Trout we had been told those lakes contained and we hoped to catch.
Some of the residents at Watson Lake showed us photos of gigantic Pike and Lake Tout they had caught at the lakes we fished, so we knew the fish were there, but they were not biting. Oh well, better luck next time.

Frenchman Lake:
At Frenchman Lake, I had the hot hand on the boat, and caught and released many nice-sized Rainbow Trout, while trolling with silver flasher blades and a medium-sized Rapala lure.
Barry had never trolled with flasher blades and I think that I now have a brand new convert to that style of fishing from a boat. After my fourth consecutive trout being caught and released, he immediately switched to a set of my flasher blades and a lure, and then began catching fish.

Frances Lake:
I managed to catch a nice-sized Mackinaw (Lake) Trout on a small Rapala lure on my first cast at Frances Lake, while sitting in the back of the boat and waiting for it to be launched from shore, so we could go trolling.
Sitting in a boat beached on the shoreline and catching a fish! Yahoo!

The one that got away:
At Simpson Lake, while spincasting from shore and swatting at pesky mosquitoes, I caught a very large Lake Trout and finally managed to bring it up to the edge of the lake, where Barry reached down to pull it out.
I thought he was going to grab the fish with his hands, but instead, he grabbed the line, the fish jerked, the line snapped and the big Lake Trout and my lure were both gone forever. Yipes!
I called him a bad name, and he had to pour cocktails and cook dinner that evening, as his penance for losing my big fish. Geez, it was a big fish!

Finlayson Creek:
Fishing was absolutely spectacular at Finlayson Creek for Arctic Grayling.
It is a very large creek (much larger than our very own Truckee River) that flows out of Finlayson Lake, and it crosses under the Robert Campbell Highway through two monster-sized culverts.
And, where Finlayson Creek comes out of those two culverts it forms a giant pool of swirling water before flowing downstream.
That pool seemed to be literally jam packed from bank to bank with countless Grayling, and Elaine and I had a ton of fun, catching and releasing fish after fish after fish. Many of those fish were feisty fighters, who ran up to 18 inches in length.
In fact, I quit fishing and began taking photographs, because I got tired of catching and releasing so many of them, on cast after cast after cast.
We were spincasting with small Mepps spinners from the bank of the creek, and Elaine and I would have a double hook-up, time after time after time.
What a memorable way to scratch another item off my Bucket List!

Other fishermen:
Most interesting, on our entire 11-day stay in the “Far North,” we only saw two other fishermen during that time. Only two!
They were fly fishing (unsuccessfully) at the edge of one of the many rivers that we drove past on our way back to Whitehorse.
So, if you’re looking for solitude while fishing, head for the Yukon!

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon he can’t tell you what our Yukon non-resident fishing licenses cost Elaine and I.
If he grins and says, “They each bought a 6-day, non-resident fishing license that cost $21.00,” he has fished in the Yukon sometime in the recent past.

— Don Quilici is a resident of Carson City and is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now and www.SouthTahoeNow.com. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com